Religious Religion Essay

has taken in the United States. Most churches do not have to look to the secular side to get their

Samantha Stuve Rise of the Nones 6/7/15 The stated purpose of this book is to bring awareness to the churches that the “nones” are on the rise. A “none” is described as religiously unaffiliated people. This group of people is not made up of seekers for a spiritual home, but those who have not found it yet. The most important thing to understand about this group is that the majority does not label themselves as atheists.

I live near Montrose, Colorado, an inconsequential city of a mere twenty thousand inhabitants. Within this reasonably small town, a total of thirty-six distinct churches serve those who profess to know Christ. The astounding variety of denominations in the United States certainly evidences itself in Montrose. In stark contrast, these divisions did not even exist among the Christians of the first century A.D. Many denominational splits occur because Christians clash over authority or disagree on doctrine. I believe that churches should, first and foremost, recognize Christ as the sole head, avoid petty man-made divisions over slight discrepancies in man's interpretation of the Bible, and yet not hesitate to disassociate

61% of WPA’s churches have fewer than 50 weekly attendees. The WPA’s attendance has declined by 1,449 per year since 2001, while the overall population has declined by 8,819 people per year. Furthermore, it has become harder to attract new members as it now takes 17 attendees to gain one new member. Yet, larger churches are able to mitigate this concern. While Sunday school participation has declined 1% every year, the retention rate of children aging through Christian formation groups has increased. Last, 68% of millennials prefer medium sized churches.

Although the U.S. religious landscape appears to have become more diverse, many still consider themselves

The United States is a profoundly diverse nation in virtually every aspect, so making blanket statements with regards to this country’s ideas of religion in public life is foolish. I will focus on one example of division, and that is along liberal and conservative lines. Those on the left espouse the kind of secularism Taylor speaks of, and typically shy away from mentioning their faith, especially when discussing policy. Those on the right constantly mention their faith as a guiding role in their decisions and often invoke

The Second “Great Awakening” of the 1790’s, brought change to the New World. “inspired by the economic progress and democratic spirit of the age and by the religious optimism of the Second Great Awakening, believed that they could improve their personal lives and society as a whole” (Henretta et al, America 321). The Second “Great Awakening” created an environment in which denominations came together in cooperation. Religious leaders began to establish societies, which “ministered to the nation” (Henretta et al, America 252). Everyone participating in these societies together, began to serve a larger religious purpose, uniting communities.

Aronson. R. (2009). Religion Dispatches. 40 Million Nonbelievers in America? The Secret Is Almost Out Secularists have very quietly become one of America’s largest minorities -- how long before they use their power?

Protestant denominations in contemporary America are declining, while non-denominational churches are seeing an increase in membership. One of the principal reasons is losing the young people. If the church continues to lose interest of the younger generations, then the likelihood of the generations to follow will also not attend, as most children follow their parents. The churches losing members and not being replaced with members, inevitably decreases the membership. A spokesman for the UMC stated the membership of the United Methodist Church would cease to exist if the church did not start reaching out to more people, especially the younger, diverse crowd (Methodists grow abroad, continue slippage in U.S., 2011). Moreover, the Presbyterian Church has shrunk as well (Ostling, Bonfante, Dolan, & Harris,

There used to be a time when most people stuck with the religion that their parents followed. These days more people are choosing denominational switching. This means that many people are no longer making life long commitments to one church in particular. They are more likely to go wherever they feel comfortable and look for a church that suits their needs.New age religions were among the fastest growing faiths in the 2001 census, increasing by 140 percent in the five years since 1996. New age religions differ from other faiths in that, while together they form an overall spiritual movement, they nonetheless lack any singles unifying creed or doctrine. Adherents do tend to share some similar beliefs and practices, which are often grafted onto other, more formalised religious beliefs.

Today, in the United States more young Americans are no longer identifying as religious or attend regular services than previous generations. Many Millennials have disaffiliated with religions.

People of long ago have attended church and it’s been known and shown from centuries to centuries on how families have attended this church or that church, this denomination or that denomination to no denomination. This family or that family, this race or that race and lately the key point in the matter of going to church seems to be missing.

Marking a seismic shift in our belief landscape, (more than) one third of Australians are now nonbelievers, and less than half are Christian. The effect will be wide ranging: a new voting block of nonbelievers forces us to consider bolstering our rather weak version of secularism.

Better substantiated is Bishop’s claim that religions in the United States are “politically divided,” citing research by University of Akron professor and Pew Research Center fellow John Green. Green took a unique approach to studying the political leaning of religious Americans. Rather than simply reporting the percent of Protestant or Catholics who identify as Republican, Democrat, or Independent, Green reports the political composition for three groups in within religion: traditionalist, centrists, and modernists. His findings demonstrate widespread intra-faith political division. For example, 57 percent of “traditional Catholics” (4.4% of the population) identify as Republican, 13 percent as independent, and 30 percent at Democrat. Compare to “modernist Catholics” (5.0 percent of the population): 38 percent identify as Republican, 11 percent as Independent, and 51 as Democrat. Generally, “the more traditional a person’s religious beliefs, the more Republican his or her political beliefs.” Simply disaggregating political affiliation by religion does not capture the rich diversity of political beliefs within denomination; Catholics, Mainland Protestants, and Evangelicals are politically heterogeneous. Bishop’s use of Green’s rigorous study— Green utilized a national random sample of 4,000 individuals—adds weight to The Big Sort’s repudiation of the widespread misconception that all religious

The church today faces challenges of disunity caused by struggles of members to achieve status and superiority as in the early churches. The scriptures are encouraging unity among